Supporting device for nethergarments



Jan. 2, 1962 E. L. AHO

SUPPORTING DEVICE FOR NETHER-GARMENTS Filed Aug. 2s, 1958 9 7 Pijl Q,

United States Patent Oflice Patented Jan. 2, 1962 3,015,109 SUPPORTING DEVICE FOR NETHER- GARMENTS Eemil L. Aho, 32 1st Ave., Roxboro, Montreal, Canada Filed Aug. 28, 1958, Ser. No. 757,753 6 Claims. (Cl. 2-302) This invention relates to a nether-garment supporting device.

In common practice, there are two ways of supporting nether-garments, for example, trousers, slacks, skirts and so on. One is by suspension from the shoulders by means of braces and the other is by suspension from the waist by means of a belt. A third type of support which has not come into common use is some means of frictionally or otherwise engaging the waist so that the garment will remain supported even when the belt. or waistband is loose. But even this latter class of device is generally dependent upon a relatively tight waistband.

Braces are usually only worn with relatively formal wear, for example when a coat or an outer garment is being Worn, or with work clothes. For sportswear and general comfort braces are not generally worn. While most people substitute a belt for braces, this type of support is not always satisfactory. A belt has a tendency to bind and even to be painful where the person has an injury or some other aiiliction causing tenderness at the waistline. A belt in this case is not practical.

It is the aim of the present invention to provide a device which supports a nether-garment from the waistline but does not depend upon girdling the waistline tightly in the manner of a belt. The present invention aims to provide a device of this nature which is inconspicuous andcan be decorative-if so desired.

Having regard to these aims, a device according to the invention is made up of a base adapted to lie adjacent to the waistline, means for detachably securing the base to the waistband of the garment, and resilient means extending inwardly from the base to present a supporting portion adapted to bed against the body of the wearer above the hip bone and to receive its support from the hip bone.

More specically, a preferred device of this nature includes a base plate which is adapted to extend along the waistband and to be secured to it by several spaced apart clip members. At the other side of the plate there is secured a spring assembly which is made up of a number of coil spring elements which have an axis near the top of the base plate and extend outwardly in wish-bone fashion to extremities which are spaced from the bottom of the base plate. At extremities of the springs there is provided a padded shoulder portion which extends right along the springs to present a padded foot for engagement with the body.

Preferably the springs get shorter towards the middle of the device where there is a gap so that in effect two spring portions are presented one at each side of the center and the padded portion takes an inward curve to present a somewhat V-shaped indentation. The purpose of this formation is to present to the body of the wearer a pair of padded feet. These feet bear against the hip area of the wearer and are urged against the hip area by the springs. The resilient nature of the device and the padded feet prevent the device hurting the wearer. At the same time the pressure of the feet is suflicient to bed into the fleshy portion at the hips and to rest, in effect, on the hip bone. There is thus a resultant upward force from the hip bone through the spring portion of the device on the base plate and consequently on the waistband of the garment. Preferably the device is upholstered and provided with a fabric covering although the clips which appear on the outside of the waistband maybe of metal and may be decorated if desired so that the device is not unsightly but, if anything decorative. The device is relatively small and inconspicuous and most effective in supporting the garment.

This invention has been generally described and it will now be referred to in more detail by reference to the attached drawings which illustrate a preferred form of `the invention and in which:

FIGURE l is a perspective view of a preferred device according vto the invention looking from the hip-engaging side.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective View of the device looking towards wearer.

FIGURE 3 is an elevation partly broken away looking from the hip-engaging side.

FIGURE 4 is a vertical cross section along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3, on an enlarged scale.

FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic view reduced in scale showing the device in place on agarment.

-FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary front view on the scale of FIGURE 5 showing the supporting device in place and showing its relationship to the hip of the wearer.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary vertical cross section illustrating the relationship of the teeth means of the clip.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the preferred form of supporting device shown is made up of a base B, in this case, juxtaposed leather strips 15 and 16 forming therebetween a pocket 14. On this base is mounted a spring assembly made from spring wire which includes a spine 17 and extending from this spine the positive leaves 20 and the securing leaves 21 of a Vspring assembly. This spring assembly may Vtake the form of a coil constituting the spine with the leaves extending outwardly from the coil in Wishbone fashion as shown in FIGURE 4. In the particular structure shown, the spine is covered with a plurality of clips 18 which have teeth 18a clamped into the base parts 15 and 16. The securing leaves 21 extend downwardly be- Y tween the strips 15 and 16 to a coil 22 at the bottom of the pocket 14. The positive leaves 20 extend downward in Wishbone fashion to a terminal portion where they are connected together by twisting and provided with a padded covering 31 made up of a plurality of layers of cloth or other suitable padding material. A cover 26 extends from the top of the strip 16 to the padded portion 31.

A retaining web 32 extends between the bottom of the base B toward padded member 31. This web 32 is narrower at the outer end, that is near the outer end of the base B, and gets wider towards the center of th'e device so that the springs 20 near the edge of the device are held in and the springs towards the middle project upwards further. In fact, there are actually 2 springheld portions which terminate in a central V portion 29 as best shown in FIGURE 3, each retained by a web 32.

At each end of the base plate 15 and centrally of this plate is secured a fastening member D for fastening the device to the waistband of a garment. 'Each fastening device is made up of a substantially U-shaped member 41 having an inner leg 43 secured to the base plate 15 and an outer leg 45 parallel to the inner leg and extending downward parallel to the inner leg. Pivotally mounted as at 47 and accommodated in a slot in the leg 45 is a lever member 49 having an inwardly extending foot 51. Also carried by the leg 4S is a spring catch member 53 which is bolted to the bottom of the leg 45 and extends upwardly beneath the slot 48 and has a pointed end S5 extending inwardly.

When the arm 49 is in the position shown in FIGURE 4, i.e. parallel to the leg 45, the lever spring member 53 is urged inwardly with its point portion 55 engaging the waistband of the garment. When the lever mem- 3 ber 49 is pulled upwards to a substantially vertical position the `Spring member 53 is released so that the part S5 is retracted fro n its engagement with the waistband of tnegarment so that the fastening member B can, be slid from the waistband.

Operation ln operation the device is placed on the waistband of the garment in the position shown in FTGURES 5 and 6 and the lever 49 pushed in a downward position so that the member 53 engages `the waistband. With three such fastening devices in operation, the supporting device is securely held to thewaistband.

lt is presumed that the waistband of the garment is substantially the right girth for the wearer but rather looser than it would be if it were the sole means of support of the garment. When the garment is put on and the fly fastened up the spring assembly of the' device falls between the ,waistband and the hip ot the wearer. The spring assembly urges the padded portion 35 in an inward direction as best shown in FGURE 6 embedding itself in the fleshy part of the hip just above the hip bone. ln this position, the ldevice resists a downward pull of the garment at the waistline by bearing against the hip bone and thus supports the garment as well as o'r better than a belt, but does not rely for support or maintaining a tight encircling of the waist with a belt or waistband. Although the padded portions 31 project considerably inward, they do`not cause the wearer any discomfort, but they bed inthe Vfleshy area above the hip bone and in edeet' rest on theV hip bone. 'I'he resultant force on the support is thus in the upward direction.

This type of support has a distinct advantage for persons who cannot, through some physical ailment or injury, Wear a belt or who dislike wearing ya belt.

l'li'he device isv inconspicuous and does not take up much space.v If desired it can be rendered decorative by making the buckles of a decorative nature, for example by providing them with an embossed metal -inish or by coloring them or by providing them with jewels.

1. A 4garment-supporting device comprising a substantially dat base adapted to be superposed upon the. waistband of a garment, a spring assembly secured to the top part of said base and adapted to extend downward and inward toward the wearer, means for restraining the spring assembly from its maximum relaxation position, a plurality of separated hook members extending from the top of the base rst outwards and then downwards to -form a leg member separate from and substantially parallel to the base, a movable structure on each leg adapted to engage the waistband of the garment lying between the leg and the base, means acting on said movable structure to force it inwards to waistband engaging position and to allow it to be withdrawn outwards to waistband releasing position, the lower end of the spring assembly being padded for bearing against the hip area of the wearer.

2. A garment supporter as defined in claim 1 in which the spring assembly is narrowed at the middle to form two separate spring-loaded portions, the padding being narrowed at the central portion of the spring assembly forming two separate padded feet for Contact with the hip area of the wearer.

3. A garment supporter comprising a base adapted to be superposed upon the waistband or a garment, a spring assembly secured to the top part of said base having a plurality of separated spring elements extending downward and inward toward wearer engaging position, a plurality of separated hook members extending from the top ot the base first outwards and then downwards to form a leg member separate from and substantially par'- allel to the base, each leg being provided with a spring catch member extending upwards from the lower end of the leg and directed inwards and provided with a waistband engaging point, a lever member on each lefy adapted to act on said spring catch to urge it to waistband engagingposition when the lever is in the down position and to release the spring catch for movement to waistlinedisengaging position when the lever is pulled up, ilexible fabric covering means covering the base 'and spring ,assembly, and a padded foot portion at the 4outer end of the spring assembly adapted to bear against the hip area/of he wearer.

4. A garment supporter Vcomprising a substantially fiat base plate, means adaptedy for removably connecting the base plate to the'inside of a garment waistband, an inwardly-acting spring urged member hingedly attachedito said base plate at a top region thereofv and extending downwardly and inwardly and havinga foot portion at its lower extremity, said foot portion being urged under the inward action of said spring urged-membertowards extended positions in which itis adapted tol embed` in the waist of a wearer and to sit on the hipbone thereby supporting the garment partially even when the waistband isjloose, and means vfor limiting the movement of the foot portion to a maximum extendedposition.

5. A garment supporter, as defined in claimA 4, in which the inwardly-acting spring-urged member n is a spring assembly having a plurality of separated spring elements. V i

6. A garment supporter comprising a base adapted-to be superposed upon the waistband of a garment, a spring assembly secured to the top part of said baserextending downward and inward toward wearer-engaging position, a plurality of separated hook members extending from the top of the base rst outwards and then downwards to form a leg member separate from and substantially parallel to the base, each leg being provided witha spring catch member extending upwards from the lower endof the leg and -directed inwards and provided with a waistband-engaging point, a lever member on each leg adapted to act on said spring catch to urge it to waistbandengaging position when the lever is in the down position and to release the spring catch for movementjto waistline-disengaging position when the lever is pulled up, iiexible fabric covering means covering the base and spring assembly, and a padded foot portion at the outer end of the spring assembly for bearing against the hip area of the wearer.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS I Parry May 11 1937 

